Michael Innes

When portrait-painter and occasional detective Charles Honeybath pays a visit to his old friend Edwin Lightfoot, there are a few surprises in store. Edwin's irksome wife is packing her bags, while Edwin is indulging in an eccentric game of pretence - acting the part of a long-dead petty criminal named Flannel Foot. Days later, when Edwin disappears, Honeybath finds himself with a mystery to solve and some decisions to make about his life - will he be lured by his intended haven?

> Portrait painter Charles Honeybath is intrigued when he is visited by a mysterious Mr Peach and is commissioned to paint an anonymous, aristocratic sitter, known only as 'Mr X', whom relatives claim is insane. Under cover of night, Honeybath is taken to the house and asked to stay while he completes his work; but when he returns to his studio, he discovers that the bank next door has been robbed and that he is under suspicion!

> Respected Fine Art experts are deceived in one of the most intriguing murder cases Inspector Appleby has ever faced, beginning with Gribble, a collector of forgeries whose latest acquisition is found to be a forged forgery! In the words of Appleby himself: 'Those whom the gods wish to destroy, they first make mad. Just a little mad, for a start. Inclined, say, to unreasonable jokes in the course of business. But later - well, very mad indeed.'

A murder mystery thriller featuring Inspector Appleby and his son. A corpse is discovered in a bunker on a golf course but by the time the police have arrived the corpse has vanished.

When Inspector Appleby's car breaks down on a deserted road one dark night, he happens upon an imposing mansion, whose windows are all illuminated. His sense of curiosity gets the better of him when he discovers that the front door is wide open, and he gets a funny feeling of being watched as he wanders round this splendid house, looking for signs of life. When he finds an elaborate feast laid out, he wonders who is expected..

> When tycoon Charles Povey is killed in a bizarre boating accident, his corrupt, look-alike brother, Arthur, adopts his identity and his financial empire. But the charade becomes complicated when one of Charles's many mistresses sees through the guise and blackmails Arthur. Enter retired detective, Sir John Appleby...

Businessman Carl Carson decides to make a dash for South America to escape the economic slump, leaving his home and his barmy wife. But he has a problem - if his company were seen to be drawing in its horns, it wouldn't last a week. His solution is his wife's favourite delusion - an imaginary son, named Robin. Carson plans to stage a fictitious kidnapping - after all, what could be more natural than a father liquidating his assets to pay the ransom demand? Unfortunately, Carson has a rather astute neighbour - Sir John Appleby, ex-Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police.

> Sir John Appleby, retired Chief Commissioner of Metropolitan Police, was taking a country walk when he had a curious encounter with the lord of a neighboring manor, the aged Martyn Ashmore. Ashmore, in a state of belligerent fear, accused Appleby of having designs on his life. >Probing a little, Appleby learned that during the war Ashmore had cracked under Nazi torture, which led to the massacre of many Resistance fighters, and ever since, on the anniversary of that day, an attempt was made on his life. Sir John believed the old man was given to senile delusions until the two of them narrowly escaped death as a large stone block fell from the roof of the house. >A murder does take place and not only Sir John but his engaging undergraduate son Bobby was involved in the investigation that followed. Michael Innes has half a dozen surprises up his sleeve, and the story is told with immense zest and high spirits.

Out the window / Lawrence Block Major crimes / Loren D. Estleman Silent warning / William J. Carroll, Jr. The third man / Graham Greene The cross of Lorraine / Isaac Asimov Nameless enemy / Miriam Allen DeFord Tragedy of a handkerchief / Michael Innes Unc foils show foe / John Jakes Dangerous widows / Mignon G. Eberhart Ride the lightning / John Lutz Till Tuesday / Jeremiah Healy The day of the losers / Dick Francis The case of the Pietro Andromache / Sara Paretsky Susu and the 8:30 ghost / Lillian Jackson Braun The investigation of things / Charles Ardai The trailor murder mystery / Abraham Lincoln The importance of trifles / Avram Davidson The double-barrelled detective story / Mark Twain The adventure of the oval window / John H. Dirckx Your appointment is cancelled / Antonia Fraser Le Chateau de L'Arsenic / Georges Simenon The nine mile walk / Harry Kemelman Crime in rhyme / Robert Bloch [The Purloined Letter]( / Edgar Allan Poe [The man with the twisted lip]( / Arthur Conan Doyle

During a walk to Elvedon House, palatial home of the Tythertons, Sir John Appleby and Chief Constable Colonel Pride are stunned to find a police van and two cars parked outside. Wealthy Maurice Tytherton has been found shot dead, and Appleby is faced with a number of suspects - Alice Tytherton, flirtatious, younger wife of the deceased; Egon Raffaello, disreputable art dealer; and the prodigal son, Mark Tytherton, who has just returned from Argentina. Could the death be linked to the robbery of some paintings several years ago?

At Mullion Castle, sumptuous stately home, we meet the Earl and his family, who include his delightful daughters, Patty and Boosie, and dotty Great-aunt Camilla. Old school chum, Charles Honeybath, who has been commissioned to paint a portrait of the Earl's wife, finds himself at the helm of a complex investigation involving ancestral works of art and a young under gardener, Swithin, who seems to possess the family features somewhat strikingly . . .

>Sir John Appleby's country weekend has been rudely interrupted by murder.... >Someone stabbed Lord Osprey with an Oriental dagger right in the library of his ancestral home, Clusters. Immediately, the police suspect one of Lord Osprey's eccentric house guests. Is it Lord Osprey's brother- in-law, Marcus Broadwater? Or coin expert, Lady Honoria Wimpole? Or Miss Minnychip, the other coin expert? Or perhaps Mr. Trumfitt, the outraged publican? It falls to Sir John, helped by Lord Osprey's faithful butler Bagot, to sort through the mysterious clues and find this clever killer.

Is a famous mystery writer unwittingly orchestrating an actual murder?

An assorted party of guests have gathered at Charne, home of Charles Martineau and his ailing wife, Grace, including Sir John Appleby and his wife, Judith. Appleby's suspicions are soon aroused with the odd behaviour of Charles, and the curious last request of Grace, who desires that upon her death Charles marries her favourite niece, Martine. When Charles and Grace die on the same day, foul play is suspected.

From Goodreads: "Every English mansion has a locked room, and Grinton Hall is no exception - the library has hidden doors and passages and a corpse. But when the corpse goes missing, Sir John Appleby and Charles Honeybath have an even more perplexing case on their hands - just how did it disappear when the doors and windows were securely locked? A bevy of helpful houseguests offer endless assistance, but the two detectives suspect that they are concealing vital information. Could the treasures on the library shelves be so valuable that someone would murder for them?"

Gilbert Averell avoids some of the rigours of taxation by living for part of each year in France - but he is unhappy about the number of weeks he spends away from his native country. So when his look-alike friend, Georges, suggests that they swap passports for a short spell, Gilbert seizes the opportunity. However, a number of incidents, involving Gilbert's sister and nephew, begin to suggest that Georges's offer was not made out of simple friendship.